Cabrini alumna Marie Porta came to Cabrini to discuss her experience with law.
Porta was a history and political science major while attending Cabrini. With aspirations of being a lawyer since the third grade, Porta moved on to law school. After graduating from Widener Law, she went into various positions practicing law before becoming the assistant admissions director there.
Kat Noldy, junior political science major, was excited for Porta’s visit. “I love arguing. I love politics. It’s a lot of work, but I would love to go to law school,” Noldy said.
Porta gave an extensive speech with insight, information and opinions on the law school experience.
“Law school is very different from college,” Porta said. “In law school you have to buy every book, read every case and every word.” Keeping your financial state in the back of your head at all times is crucial.
Attending law school full-time does not allow to work a full-time job. “Look into cost-saving techniques. You will be strapped for cash,” Porta said.
Porta explained that coming to class prepared is critical in law school. If a professor calls on you and you are unprepared, they can even mark you absent. In college many students can decipher what classes they need to apply more effort and time to versus the classes that may just require attendance. In law school, you must both do the reading, homework and attend class. It is a way of training for your experience as an attorney.
Porta spent a lot of time explaining the application and its process according to Widener Law’s standards. She explained that personal statements are extensively reviewed. She advised potential law students to keep them only two to three pages in length and to talk about something that you are passionate about. “I think a good personal statement is what takes us beyond the personal file and into who you are.”
The LSAT is also an important part of the acceptance into law school. “The LSAT is hard. I did great at Cabrini, but not that great on the LSAT,” Porta said. She advised students to come prepared and take the test as many times as possible.
After the speech, Noldy was happy with her presentation. “She was well-spoken and answered a lot of questions. I liked that Cabrini offered something helpful like this,” Noldy said.
